Spoon.



Patented Mar. 5, IBDI. G. B. HOLMAN.

SPOON.

(Application am! Nov. 2, 1900.;

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lo it; known that l, (iii/um linnhn llomnhn, a citizen oi the United Slat-es, residing at (laincsville, in the county of Cooke and State of Texas, have invented certain new and use ful improvements in Spoons, of which tho following is a specification.

'lhis invention relates to spoons, and has for its object to provide an im proved form of spoon foradmiuistm'iug liquid medicine and food to sick pen-ions and invalids when they are lying upon their books.

In administering a liquid with an ordinary spoon it frequently happens that a considerable portion thereof is spilled upon the face and clothing; oi the patient owing to the shallowness of the spoon, and in view of this disadvantage the present invention has for one of its objects to provide means for oonven iently and el'lfectively zuiministering a liquid without spilling any portion thereof. It is furthermore designed to arrange the spoon so that it may be held ina substantially level posit-ion when placed upon a table or the like in order that the liquid may not run out of the spoon.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanyingdrawings, and partici'ilarly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is aperspective View of the improved spoon, Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, showing the spoon supported in a substantially level position upon a table or the like. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof. 1 is a front elevation of the spoon.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the bowl of the spoon, which is considerably larger than an ordinary table-spoon and designed to coni'ain at least two table-spoonfuls of liquid when placed upon a table or other support. The rear portion o the bottom ol" the bowl is flat, as indicalcd at 1.2, from which it inclines slightly upward to the point or forward end of the bowl, as indicated at 3. The opposite side walls of the lmwl rise to n. considerable extent above those of an ordi nary spoon and converge toward the point ol the bowl, where they also how imvardly, {1H best indicated in Fig. l of the drawings, so as in form a substantially funnehshaped or tubular mouthpiece designed to be slightly inserted between the lips of s patienhwhereby the liquid cannot escape al the sides of the bowl on account oi the height of the side walls of the bowl. which enter the patienlfs month. At the rear end of the bowl thereis provided the usual handle 4, whereby the spoon may be manipulated in the usual manner.

In order that the spoon may be supported in a substantially level position, so as to pro vent spilling; of the liquid or to permit of a liquid being conveniently poured into the bowl, there is provided a l1andle-support 5 in the form of a substantially triangular link, the apex of which is hingedly connected to the back or underside of the handle by means of a loop or eye 6, carried by the handle and adjacent to the outer end thereof. The opposite broad end or base of the triangular link forms a supporting-foot 7 for the hinged leg, and is designed to rest upon the table or other surface, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, whereby the handle is held in an elevated position and the bowl is maintained substantially level, and in view of the depressed intermediate portion of the bowl or the upward inclination of the bottom thereof a quantity of liquid may be contained within the bowl without danger of escaping therefrom.

When the hinged leg or handle-support is not in use, it is swung upwardly against the back or under side of the handle, with its free end extended toward the bowl and engaged with a spring clip or catch 8, carried by the back of the handle and adjacent to the bowl. This spring-clip is substantially Ushaped and is disposed in the same longitudinal plane with the handle, so that the intermediate portion of the foot of the handle-sup port may automatically snap into the springcatch, as indicated in Fi 1,

lhe hinged leg or support may he conveniently thrown upwardly into its inoperative position hy one olthe lingers of the hand which grasps the handle and likewise may be returned to its operative position without removing the hand from the handle, so as to facilitate the placing of the spoon upon a table while containing a liquid and also the taking up of the spoon from the table. In view of the divergence of the sides of the leg they are conveniently accessible at opposite edges of the handle adjacent to the springcatch. Moreover, the intermediate portions of the opposite sides of the wire supportingleg are provided with corresponding outwardly-hmved portions 9, which project at opposite edges of the handle, so as to provide linger-pieces for conveniently dropping the leg into position for use by sliding the fingers along the opposite edges of the handle until they strike the opposite bowed finger-pieces, whereby the leg will be disconnected from the spring-catch, and thus dropped into position.

What is claim ed is 1. A spoon, comprising a bowl, a handle, a baitshaped handle-support hinged to the back of the handle, the transverse free end of the support forming a foot disposed transversely of the spoon, and a spring-clip carried hy the hack of the handle adjacent to the bowl, and arranged in the path of the swing of the foot of the support. 7

2. A spoon, comprising a bowl, a handle, a substantially triangular-shaped handle-supporting link, having its apex hingedly connected to the back of the handle, and its base forming a foot disposed transversely of the spoon, and a substantially U-shaped spring clip or catch carried adjacent to the bowl and upon the hackof the handle,and also arranged in the path of the swing of the foot of the snpport, to hold the latter in its inoperative position.

A spoon comprising a how], a handle, a loop-shaped supporting-leg hinged to the handle,and having its opposite sides provided with outwardly-bowed portions forming finger-pieces, and a spring-catch carried by the handle and arranged in the path of the swing of the free end of the leg.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses CLARA BELLE I'IOLMAN.

Witnesses:

A. J. THOMPSON, A. O. THOMPSON. 

